A. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a door safety shield, and more particularly, the embodiments of the present invention relate to a door safety shield for completely overlying a door having a frame and a doorknob, for replaceabley and slidably attaching to the frame of the door and not the door so as to eliminate damage to the door, and for preventing unauthorized opening of the door.
B. Description of the Prior Art
We are in a state in which the safety of our children at school is at risk. Offices, banks, stores, police officers, and homes all take protection against gun violence, but when it comes to our schools, our children do not have the right protection.
Thus, there exists a need for a door safety shield for completely overlying a door having a frame and a doorknob, for replaceabley and slidably attaching to the frame of the door and not the door so as to eliminate damage to the door, and for preventing unauthorized opening of the door.
Numerous innovations for door/window safety shields and related fastener and support assemblies have been provided in the prior art, which will be described below in chronological order to show advancement in the art, and which are incorporated in their entirety herein by reference thereto. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, nevertheless, they differ from the present invention in that they do not teach a door safety shield for completely overlying a door having a frame and a doorknob, for replaceabley and slidably attaching to the frame of the door and not the door so as to eliminate damage to the door, and for preventing unauthorized opening of the door.
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,286 to Taylor, III et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,286—issued to Taylor, III et al. on Apr. 2, 1991 in U.S. class 296 and subclass 24.46—teaches a transport vehicle protective shield formed of a transparent, multi-layered, and bullet-proof paneling, which includes a first panel orthogonally mounted to a second panel to enclose a passenger compartment of a transport vehicle, such as a bus. The second panel includes a displacement door hingedly mounted to a first door of the second panel to provide access for a coin receiving appliance traditionally positioned adjacent the passenger compartment in bus vehicles. The panels include ventilation apertures to cooperate with a ventilation duct work within the passenger compartment to provide comfort and convenience in its use.
(2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,323 to Madden, Jr.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,323—issued to Madden, Jr. on Jan. 30, 1996 in U.S. class 89 and subclass 36.08—teaches a removable bullet resistant apparatus for windshields and rear windows of a vehicle, which includes a transparent panel that is disposed against structural elements of a vehicle, and a layered mat is secured to the bottom portion of the transparent panel and disposed on the dashboard deck in front of the transparent panel for the windshield embodiment, and behind the transparent panel and on the rear deck for the rear window embodiment. The transparent panels and the mats are bullet resistant. The layered mats are secured to the transparent panels in an overlapping relationship. The mats are made of layers of bullet resistant material, woven, nonwoven, or combinations of both woven and nonwoven materials.
(3) U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,778 to Sheridan.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,778—issued to Sheridan on Jul. 9, 1996 in U.S. class 296 and subclass 152—teaches a window shield including a transparent projectile resistant panel mounted on the inside of a vehicle door frame covering the window opening, and a removable bracket support connected to the panel. An additional panel can be fastened by snaps to the bracket support to protect the lower portion of a driver's body if necessary.
(4) U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,204 to Hultman.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,204—issued to Hultman on Dec. 3, 1996 in U.S. class 411 and subclass 509—teaches a fastener assembly and method for attaching a first member to a second member. The fastener assembly includes a socket member that defines a socket, and a stud that includes a head engagable with the socket of the nut. The stud is attached to a first member, and the nut is attached to a second member. The assembly is initially attached to the first member by attaching the stud to the first member and then inserting the nut into the second member. When the first member must be removed from the second member, the head of the stud is forcibly disengaged from the socket of the nut. Re-attachment of the first member to the second member is achieved by forcibly engaging the head with the socket. After the initial insertion, the socket member remains captively retained on the second member.
(5) U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,820 to Madden, Jr.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,820—issued to Madden, Jr. on Apr. 15, 1997 in U.S. class 49 and subclass 50—teaches a support apparatus for supporting a transparent bullet resistant panel on a door having no frame for its window, which includes channel elements for holding the transparent panel, support elements including brackets secured to the channel elements and disposed against the inside of the door, and support elements extending downwardly within the door.
(6) U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,474 to Wilson.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,474—issued to Wilson on Oct. 30, 2001 in U.S. class 52 and subclass 202—teaches a door and doorway shield system, each including at least one hook for hanging or gripping onto a portion of the door or the doorway. The shield, preferably, hangs on the door by a J-shaped hook portion that extends substantially along the entire top edge of the shield. The shield, preferably, includes a protective portion that extends across the space between a door and a doorway and across the trim molding of the doorway to substantially cover, or hook on, the front trim molding of the doorway. In embodiments that hook on the trim molding, the trim hook holds the shield in place to provide resistance to impacts pushing the shield off of the door. A J-shaped hook portion on the bottom of the shield allows for connection to the bottom of the door or for turning the shield up-side-down for use on both left-hinged and right-hinged doors.
(7) United States Patent Application Publication Number 2003/0080248 to Morgan.
United States Patent Application Publication Number 2003/0080248—published to Morgan on May 1, 2003 in U.S. class 244 and subclass 118.5—teaches a layer of a mesh or mail material is bonded to the opposite sides of a ballistic layer of a bullet resistant composite material. The layer of relatively lightweight body material, e.g., structural honeycomb, is bonded to the outside of each layer of mesh or mail material. A ballistic layer is provided on the outside of each layer of relatively lightweight body material. Adhesive material secures the layers together to provide a unified panel.
(8) U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,627 to Ben-Ezra.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,627—issued to Ben-Ezra on Nov. 30, 2004 in U.S. class 49 and subclass 394—teaches a method and kit for retrofitting security doors to facilitate escaping from buildings during emergencies. It applies to new security doors, as well as existing security doors. It is molded from a corrosion resistant plastic. Only basic hand tools are required for retrofitting existing doors. The kit includes a simple separable shield having a thin outer wall portion for enclosing an unlocking member, and an orthogonal portion for retaining the shield in a security door. In one aspect, the shield is mounted in fixed relationship to the security door. In a second aspect, the shield is mounted in rotating relationship to the security door. The method includes the steps of removing a lock member, installing the shield, and re-installing the lock member.
(9) United States Patent Application Publication Number 2010/0257788 to McRoskey.
United States Patent Application Publication Number 2010/0257788—published to McRoskey on Oct. 14, 2010 in U.S. class 49 and subclass 383—teaches a door safety shield that generally includes door and door jamb attachment portions and at least one tambour portion extending therebetween. The tambour portion includes a plurality of tambour slats hingedly coupled to one another so as to be substantially flexible in a first direction and substantially inflexible in a second direction. The first tambour portion is coupled to the door attachment portion and/or the door jamb attachment portion by a coupling that is substantially flexible in the second direction and substantially inflexible in the first direction. Methods of preventing injuries at the hinged side of a door and methods of manufacturing a door safety shield are also taught.
(10) United States Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0203179 to Boens.
United States Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0203179—published to Boens on Aug. 25, 2011 in U.S. class 49 and subclass 142—teaches a door assembly including a custom-built doorframe housing a main door that carries an integrally mounted and rectangularly-shaped leaf door. The trailing edge of the main door rotates about a vertical axis that is parallel to and proximate the inner rear surface of the doorframe. The leaf door is rotatably attached by a spring mechanism to a cutout excised from the leading edge of the main door. As the main door rotates about its vertical axis, the leaf door is restrained by tension of the spring mechanism from closing with full force upon human fingers or any other object that may be proximate the door jamb or inner doorframe area. The pivoting or trailing edge of the main door is abutted against elastomeric material affixed to the inner rear surface of the doorframe, thereby preventing the insertion of fingers into what otherwise would be a hazardous gap.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for door/window safety shields and related fastener and support assemblies have been provided in the prior art, which are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, nevertheless, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the embodiments of the present invention as heretofore described, namely, a door safety shield for completely overlying a door having a frame and a doorknob, for replaceabley and slidably attaching to the frame of the door and not the door so as to eliminate damage to the door, and for preventing unauthorized opening of the door.